PRESCHOOL INTERVENTION FOR CHILDREN AT RISK (FROM FAMILIES TODAY: A RESEARCH SAMPLER ON FAMILIES AND CHILDREN, VOLUME II, P 499-522, 1979, EUNICE CORFMAN, ED. -- SEE NCJ- 146059)

• NCJ Number: 146061
• Author(s): J E Rolf; V R Isenstein; W Krasner
• Date Published: 1979
• Length: 24 pages
• Grant Number(s): MH-24152
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute of Mental Health
• Sale Source: Superintendent of Documents, GPO; National Institute of Justice/; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Publication Type: Program/Project Evaluation
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

The etiology of behavior disorders in early childhood was studied as part of the Vermont Child Development Project (VCDP) in order to design and test early intervention strategies.

Abstract

The project goal was to provide children at risk with competence-building early experiences, based on a therapeutic day care intervention approach. The VCDP studied the development of competent behavior in both vulnerable and nonvulnerable children, symptoms and duration of pathology in preschool children, relation of preschool competence measures to school measures of social adjustment and academic performance, and relation of observed patterns of incompetence in preschool and early school children to recognized signs of incipient adult psychopathology. Major components of the VCDP included epidemiological surveys, high-risk family studies, intervention studies, and followup. Six intervention modes were used in the course of the project: day care curricula, consultation, referral, direct child contact, parent and family contact, and advocacy/followup. Studies of behavior disorders in children are noted, theoretical and practical dimensions of early intervention with children at risk are reviewed, and problems encountered when dealing with such children and their families are discussed. 7 references and 1 figure